This episode, Kerry talks to two guests, Bronagh Donnelly and Mary Jordan. Bronagh's son has ADHD, and she also works for an ADHD support service.  Mary has ADHD herself, and so do both of her children. Our guests candidly share their stories of parenting children with ADHD and their journey through getting the right support, understanding ADHD and their overall mindset about it. Their stories are uplifting and inspiring as we hear how their children thrived in areas like sport and creative...

This episode, Kerry chats to two local parents, Barbara and Katrina, who share their views on how to rediscover the magic of Christmas, on a budget!  They discuss their own, personal family traditions, and revisit what really matters at Christmas. The Cost of Living Crisis is affecting the vast majority of us, so why should we put unnecessarily pressures on ourselves and our family to keep up with everything we see others doing on social media? The 'picture perfect' Christmas may look...

Breastfeeding counsellor Katy Lynn chats to Kerry about the emotive topic of breastfeeding.  They talk about some of the amazing qualities of breastmilk, the joys of breastfeeding and discuss awareness around the difficulties experienced when starting to breastfeed. They key message here is the  lack of support for mums who are starting to breastfeed, that can often lead them to stop sooner than planned.  We've included some signposting information below. It is advised that the first port of...

Kerry talks to Hannah Conroy, mum to Ben, age 9, who has vision impairment. Hannah describes how she navigated getting support in place for Ben, as well as talking about his resilience and positivity! She also describes how much she values the support she gets from RNIB and Angel Eyes, and talks about the challenges of having child with a disability.  https://www.rnib.org.uk/ https://www.angeleyesni.org/

This episode Kerry talks to Sorina and Cosmin, parents of 8 year old Ezra. Ezra became ill at 14 months and is a below the knee double amputee. He also lost fingers on his right hand. Kerry discusses how Sorina and Cosmin coped, and are still coping, as well as Ezra's resilience and determination in progressing into a very active boy who loves school and lives a full life. 

Kerry McLean talks to Chris and Rebecca, who each have a son with a rare genetic condition, called PKU. They courageously discuss how it affects their lives, and the wider family circle. They explain the experience of being told the diagnosis, and how they coped and moved forward from there.  This episode focuses on the feelings and challenges around having a child with a lifelong condition, and how the support from those in similar situations can help make things more manageable. We...

Teen Pregnancy - somemthing that is usually unplanned and unexpected, by both parents and their teenagers! Katrina, a teen mum with a newborn, and Paula, a former teen mum whose daughter is now in her 20's, chat about their experiences with Kerry McLean. They share challenges and shifts in their lifestyle, as well as what they have gained and their outlook on life. 

This episode shares the experience of Michaela, who lost her mother just six weeks after the birth of her first baby, all during the peak of Covid 19.  Kerry and Michaela discuss how she coped with this tragic loss, during such a significant and intense period of her life. They share some similar experiences, and the message that despite how difficult life can be, if we reach out, it can make us feel so much less alone.  Remember Parentline are here on 0808 8020 400 to listen, offer support...

This episode is the second of our 'Parenting through...' series. Kerry talks to Casey and Becca, the recent founders of Melted Parents NI - their aim is to share the human stories behind the childcare crisis and it's impact on our society.  They discuss the impact of childcare costs on whether parents (mainly women) are willing and/or able to return to work after having a baby. In addition, they talk about childcare being more than just someone looking after your child, and how nurturing a...

The thought of our children or our young people going through emotional pain and hurt is horrible.  As parents or carers, we want them to have a perfect, stress-free, pain-free life. But of course, that's not possible for anyone. And sometimes that pain and hurt can lead to them having thoughts of self-harm, or worse still, thoughts of suicide. Kerry McLean talks to Connor McCafferty of Zest NI - Healing the Hurt, on how our own emotional literacy can help us provide the right kind of support...

In this episode, Pam Nugent, co-founder of The Laurence Trust, tells her story about the loss of her son, Laurence, to an eating disorder. For #eatingdisorderawarenessweek2023, there is a focus on men, and how eating disorders, contrary to popular belief, affect men as well as women. Pam shares the heartbreaking story of Laurence's eating disorder,  and her motivation for founding The Laurence Trust; a safe and compassionate space for men and their loved ones to find support, so that...

In this episode we were delighted to have Rebecca from Eden Consultancy  back with us to chat more about autism. Kerry and Rebecca chat about next steps after diagnosis, as well as discussing stigmas and dated views. Rebecca gives some excellent tried and tested techniques as well as advice for parents and carers to try involving the whole family in using a consistent approach for their children. They also chat about normalising a diagnosis - it does not change your child and is absolutely...

Lisa and Kerry chat about the impact of childhood trauma on the person we become, and in turn our own parenting styles. They discuss the vocabulary we need to talk about trauma and it's impact on our mental health. They also discuss self care, and how empathy and compassion can make such a positive difference to those carrying the weight of trauma. Lisa discusses how having those conversations about the legacy of trauma, don't always make things better, but that addressing things can lead to...

This episode, Kerry talks to Col Bignell, founder of DadBods - a group for dads to get together and connect through what it's like to be a dad! Every Sunday they get together in a new outdoor location for a walk and a chat - and bring their babies and toddlers of course! Col explains what it has done for him as a parent, as he feels he can connect with the other dads about how much of a life changing event parenthood is. If you'd like to get in touch with Col, find him on Instagram at...

Patrick McIlwee, from New Ways NI - Tailored Mindset Coaching, chats to Kerry McLean about ways to use mindfulness in our parenting, both for ourselves and for our children.  Resources: https://5lovelanguages.com/ https://www.facebook.com/NewWaysNI/

Ed Sipler, a Health Development Specialist in the South Eastern Health & Social Care Trust, talks to Kerry McLean about building resilience in ourselves and our children. It's been a tough few years for us all, and with the current cost of living challenges, we have all had a lot to cope with and try to overcome. Ed talks about resilience in this episode, and how it's more effective to build our own resilience first, before modelling it to our children. Ed talks about his own family,...

This episode, Kerry chats to Wayne Denner, an online reputation and safety expert,  who has spent decades in the digital space teaching people of all ages to protect themselves online, take control of technology and maximise the opportunities it can offer. They discuss safeguarding in the online world; something that is becoming increasingly prevalent in our lives. As parents we know the world is a very different place to the one we grew up in, and our heads can sometimes be filled with...

Following our popular workshop delivered together with Elaine McCrisken from Strive NI, Elaine joins us on the podcast to chat about Anxiety Based School Avoidance.   Listen in as Kerry chats to Elaine and explores reasons why a child or young person may be finding it difficult to attend school. As well as discussing practical strategies for parents/carers to support children to return more willingly to the school environment. We hope you enjoy the conversation, share with friends and family...

Following our recent workshop series delivered together with Rebecca McCullough from Eden Consultancy, Rebecca is back to talk to us again about ADHD. ADHD is one of the most common, yet most misunderstood conditions amongst children and young people. In this podcast we will look into what ADHD actually is, talk about the myths surrounding ADHD, the challenges of ADHD and how to support a child or young person with ADHD through various strategies.  We hope you enjoy the conversation, share...

Parenting/caring for children is both a joy and a challenge and can often have big impact on our relationships with those around us.  Life is full of ups and downs and conflict is normal within all relationships, it is how conflict is handled which can impact our children most both now and long term.  Listen in as Kerry chats to Kellie from Relate NI all about their new programme, ‘Sustaining Healthy Relationships’. These sessions look at developing skills and tools to manage the rough &...

Our Parent Workshops looking at Autism have been hugely popular with parents and carers and these sessions have proved really supportive so far.  We have had huge demand for these and places filled quickly, so we are delighted to have had the chance to record this follow-up podcast with Rebecca from Eden Consultancy to share with you.  Kerry chats to Rebecca McCullough all about Autism; what is it, how might it present, what can we learn and how can we support our children.  We hope you enjoy...

We continue our series exploring and listening to the diversity of family units across Northern Ireland.  Today Kerry chats to Lesley, a kinship carer. Listen in to hear all about what a kinship carer is, how Lesley came to be a kinship carer and her parenting experience in this role.  Remember Parentline are here on 0808 8020 400 to listen, offer support or guidance on any parenting issue. 

Our Parent Workshops looking at Autism have been hugely popular with parents and carers and these sessions have proved really supportive so far.  We have had huge demand for these and places filled quickly, so we are delighted to have had the chance to record this podcast with Rebecca from Eden Consultancy to share with you.  Kerry chats to Rebecca McCullough all about Autism; what is it, how might it present, what can we learn and how can we support our children.  We hope you enjoy the...

Traditionally families have been viewed as mum, dad & 2.4 children. But society is thankfully moving forward. Single parents, unmarried mothers and fathers as well as separated and divorced parents are now accepted as the norm.  We may still have a long way to go in Northern Ireland with equality, no less so in truly accepting and including LGBTQI+ parents as the ‘norm’. In this new series of podcasts we aim to normalise and celebrate the diversity of families in Northern Ireland. First...